Sophie's POV
Sophie woke up human and that was the first problem.
Her body was all wrong. Too soft. Too exposed. Too vulnerable. She was lying on something that felt like clouds and her skin was cold and she couldn't remember how she'd gotten here or what had happened or why her wolf was calm instead of screaming.
She opened her eyes slowly.
The room was beautiful in a way that made her stomach hurt. High ceilings. Soft lighting that came from somewhere she couldn't see. Furniture that looked expensive and lived in. A window overlooking mountains she didn't recognize.
This wasn't her room.
Sophie sat up and realized she was completely naked.
The panic came fast. She pulled the blanket up to her chin and looked around for something to cover herself. For someone to hurt her. For Carson to emerge from the shadows with that smile and those hungry eyes.
But the room was empty.
There was a soft knock on the door before it opened. Lucas stepped inside carrying clothes and a towel like he'd been waiting for her to wake up. Like he'd known exactly when she'd need them.
He didn't look at her body. Not once. He kept his eyes carefully on her face while he set the clothes on the edge of the bed. The gesture was so unexpected that Sophie couldn't process it.
"Bathroom is through there," he said, pointing to a door she hadn't noticed. "Hot water. Clean towels. Take your time."
He turned to leave.
Sophie couldn't stop herself from asking. "Why are you being nice to me?"
Lucas paused at the door. He looked back at her with something in his expression that she couldn't name. Something that looked like sadness mixed with determination.
"Because someone needs to," he said simply.
Then he closed the door and she was alone again.
Sophie sat there wrapped in the blanket trying to make sense of what was happening. An enemy Alpha had just given her privacy and clean clothes. An enemy Alpha had looked at her naked body and turned away out of respect.
That didn't happen. Not in her world. Not with men who had power.
She used the bathroom and discovered that the clothes he'd left were her size. Perfectly. Down to the last detail. Soft pants that fit her waist exactly right. A sweater that didn't swallow her. Even underwear in her size which should have been impossible because he'd just met her.
The realization made her head spin.
When she came back out Lucas was waiting with soup.
Not in some formal way. Just sitting on a chair across the room with two bowls on the small table between them. He'd kept distance between them. Kept his body relaxed. Kept his expression open and non-threatening. Everything about his posture said he wasn't going to hurt her.
Sophie sat on the bed and picked up the bowl carefully. The soup was warm and smelled like herbs and meat and something that made her mouth water. She realized she hadn't eaten since before the raid. She was starving.
She ate slowly at first. Then faster. Lucas watched her without comment.
"Better?" he asked when she was halfway through.
Sophie nodded because her mouth was full.
"You're under my protection now," Lucas said quietly. "No one in this pack will hurt you. No one will touch you without your permission. You're safe here."
The words didn't make sense. Safe was a concept she'd stopped believing in years ago. Safety was something other people had. Safety wasn't something that came from enemy packs or powerful men or places underground where no one could hear you scream.
"Why?" Sophie asked.
Lucas didn't answer immediately. He seemed to be choosing his words very carefully.
"Because it's the right thing to do," he finally said. "And because you belong here now."
Sophie wanted to ask what that meant. Wanted to ask if she was a prisoner or a guest or something else entirely. But asking questions meant pushing and pushing meant danger and danger meant pain.
So she stayed quiet and finished her soup.
They sat in silence for a long time. Lucas didn't try to make conversation. He didn't ask her questions or demand information or explain why an enemy Alpha would risk everything for a girl from the opposing pack. He just sat there letting her exist in the quiet.
It was the most peaceful she'd felt in years.
Eventually Sophie's eyes got heavy. The exhaustion from the raid and the running and the terror was finally catching up to her. Her body was shutting down now that it didn't have to stay alert.
"You should sleep," Lucas said. "You're safe."
Sophie wanted to believe him. Some part of her wolf already did believe him. So she lay back on his bed and pulled the blanket over herself and closed her eyes.
She expected him to leave.
He didn't.
Sophie could hear him moving in the room. Could hear him sit back down in the chair. Could feel his presence in the darkness like a weight that was somehow comforting instead of threatening.
She fell asleep to the sound of him breathing.
When morning came Sophie woke to sunlight streaming through the window.
Lucas was gone.
She sat up slowly, taking in the room in daylight. It was exactly as beautiful as it had been in the evening. Everything was soft and clean and nothing like the cold stone rooms she'd grown up in. Nothing like Carson's office where threats hung in the air like fog.
Sophie got out of bed and walked to the door to open it.
The guards outside stopped her immediately.
There were two of them. Both massive. Both positioned to block her exit. They didn't look hostile but they didn't move aside either.
"Alpha said you stay here," one of them said.
Sophie tried the door again. It was locked from the outside.
She wasn't a guest.
She was a prisoner.
The realization should have terrified her. Should have made her angry or desperate or anything other than what she felt. But standing there in Lucas's clothes, remembering the way he'd turned away from her nakedness, remembering the soup and the clean towels and the way he'd watched over her while she slept, Sophie couldn't quite manage to feel trapped.
She felt something else entirely.
She felt claimed.